VANCOUVER -- With the COVID-19 pandemic now more than a year old, a recent poll suggests about a third of British Columbians feel their financial situation hasn't returned to what it was before the health crisis hit.
In an online survey conducted by Research Co., 33 per cent of respondents said their financial status is actually worse than it was a year ago.
About half of those surveyed said their financial situation is about the same, while 17 per cent said they're better off now than this time last year.
"There are specific groups of British Columbians who are more likely to have been negatively impacted by the pandemic," said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., in a news release.
"More than a third of women (36 per cent) and practically half of residents of Northern B.C. (49 per cent) say their household’s finances have suffered on account of COVID-19."
For B.C. residents of European and East Asian descent, about a third said their household financial status has worsened during the pandemic. That number was slightly higher for British Columbians of First Nation and South Asian origin, at 38 per cent, the poll's results suggested.
When surveyed, B.C. residents said some of the things they're spending more money on included groceries and electronic entertainment, like TV and streaming services.
About 15 per cent of residents polled said they're spending more on books, housing and board games than before the start the pandemic.
Meanwhile, about 18 per cent of B.C. residents surveyed said they were paying more on transportation. But for 37 per cent, those costs, which include fuel, transit and taxis, was actually lower.
Results are based on an online survey conducted between March 1 and 3, 2021, among 800 adults in B.C. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
